http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7722-1192
![Sample our Humanities journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5939/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Humanities.jpg"})
Abstract
Religion is a major cultural, social, political, and economic factor in many official development assistance (ODA) recipient countries. After decades of being ignored by global development processes, greater portions of development aid are now channeled via faith-based organizations, and religion is increasingly recognized as a human resource rather than just an obstacle to development. This essay explores the role that faith actors are playing in the Sustainable Development Goals process. It is based upon findings from a research project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)—“Keeping Faith in 2030: Religions and the SDGs.”
ORCID
Emma Tomalin http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7722-1192
Jörg Haustein http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5792-5205
Notes
1 This essay was commissioned by the Cambridge Institute on Religion & International Studies (CIRIS) on behalf of the Transatlantic Policy Network on Religion and Diplomacy (TPNRD). CIRIS’s role as the Secretariat of the TPNRD is generously supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. The opinions expressed in this essay are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of CIRIS, Clare College, the Luce Foundation, the TPNRD Secretariat, or any TPNRD-participating government.
2 See “Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals” at https://religions-and-development.leeds.ac.uk.
3 The final report and policy recommendation can be downloaded at https://religions-and-development.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/02/Policy-Paper-for-web.pdf.
4 It must be noted that religious traditions also played a role in shaping understandings of development and providing welfare support in pre-colonial settings. However, our aim is to understand the different phases of engagement between religions and global development institutions and discourses, with the latter having their roots in the colonial era.
5 While “development” can refer to general processes of social or economic change in this paper it refers to the more specific western donor-driven development project that emerged after WWII. It is conceptually related to “humanitarianism” (activities taking place following a disaster) but aims to involve more long-term and sustainable processes of transformation, often coming after humanitarian interventions.
6 Research interview, May 21, 2017.
7 Research interview May 20, 2017.
8 See “Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals” at https://religions-and-development.leeds.ac.uk/events/.
9 Francis. 2015. Encyclical Letter, “Laudato Si,” The Holy See. http://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf.
10 Research interview December 1, 2017.
11 See USAID, “History of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives,” https://www.usaid.gov/faith-and-opportunity-initiatives/history.
12 See University of Birmingham, “Religions and Development,” https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/government-society/departments/international-development/rad/index.aspx.
13 See “About JLI on Faith & Local Communities,” https://jliflc.com/about/.
14 See World Bank, “Faith Based and Religious Organizations,” http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/partners/brief/faith-based-organizations.
15 See World Bank, “Global Conference on Religion and Sustainable Development: Strengthening Partnerships to End Extreme Poverty,” http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/07/12/global-conference-religion-sustainable-development.
16 See PARD, “Mission Statement,” http://www.partner-religion-development.org/about/mission-statement/.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Emma Tomalin
Emma Tomalin is Professor of Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds, UK. Her research interests include a focus on religion and sustainable development, and religion and gender. Related to these areas she is author of Religions and Development (Routledge, 2013) and The Routledge Handbook of Religions and Global Development (2015).
Jörg Haustein
Jörg Haustein is Senior Lecturer in Religions in Africa at SOAS University of London. His primary research interest is on Christianity and Islam in Africa since the 19th century until the present, with a special focus on Ethiopia and Tanzania. He is also an expert on global Pentecostalism and mission history in Africa and has a main interest in understanding how current development practices are shaped by historical and contemporary dynamics in global religion.
Shabaana Kidy
Shabaana Kidy is a Program Officer for the international NGO Islamic Relief Worldwide, where she currently focuses on program work within the Asia region. She was previously, and at the time of writing, Research and Development Officer at the Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD) where she worked on several global research projects on faith and development. She has an interest in climate, food security, and livelihoods, and previously conducted a small scale research project in this area. She has traveled to Morocco, India, and Malawi for research, advocacy, and programmatic work.